St. Bede seniors leave it all on the field and become school winners in the high school Heisman Scholarship competition

PERU — There are some students who set the bar. They work harder, show more passion and lead by example — in the classroom, on the field and within the community. Recently, Wendy’s High School Heisman recognized Beau Bonnell and Berklee Linnig from St. Bede Academy for their dedication to never cutting corners by naming them school winners.

“These students are known by their teachers and friends for their commitment to excellence. We are excited and honored that a program like the High School Heisman is also recognizing their hard work,” said Principal Michelle Mershon.

Bonnell, the son of Bradley and Kathleen Bonnell of Arlington, attended Peru Catholic School. While he has been a student at St. Bede Academy, he has been a four-year participant in wrestling and track, and a three-year participant in cross country. He has received the Academic All-Conference all four years, named the 2018-19 All-BCR for Wrestling, the 2019 All-BCR for Boys Track & Field Team and the 2019 All-BCR for Boys Cross Country Team. He has made the honor roll every year during his time at St. Bede. He has a 3.8 grade point average, a 26 for ACT and is ranked 15th in his class. He is a Eucharistic minister, a member of Lectio Divina and the Heritage Club, and has spent more than 150 hours volunteering at St. Bede youth sports camps and in the community. He plans to attend a four-year university to major in health sciences and business.

Linning, the daughter of Ryan and Heather Linnig of LaSalle, attended Dimmick Consolidated School in District 175. While attending St. Bede, she has been a four-year participant in track and field and volleyball, where she served as captain and received the LAH (leadership, attitude and hustle) award her senior year. She has also participated in Lectio Divina, the Heritage Club, Venturing Club, Ping Long Club, Tea Club and served as secretary of the Interact Club. She has been an ambassador her junior and senior year, and has dedicated many hours to community service at the veterans home, coaching grade school volleyball and helping out with a variety of activities for the Interact Club. She recently attended the Adam Kinzinger Youth Leadership Conference at Illinois Valley Community College and has taken part in Father Ronald’s annual Mission Trip for three years, working directly with those less fortunate. She plans on attending IVCC to obtain her associates degree before transferring to a four-year university to major in kinesiology. She will then move on to complete her master's in speech pathology.

Bonnell and Linning will continue to compete, with other school winners, for the chance to become state winners, national finalists or national winners. State winners receive a $500 college scholarship, national finalists receive a $1,000 college scholarship and the male and female national winners will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship and a trip to New York City to attend the 2019 Heisman Trophy Weekend events, including the televised ESPN Heisman Trophy ceremony and 85th annual Heisman Dinner Gala.